200 jobs lost if Electrochem walks from Raynham project

Wednesday

Electrochem Commercial Power, the battery maker eager to invest $28 million in Raynham Woods Commerce Center, may pull out of the deal if drainage problems in the park are not resolved soon.

Electrochem Commercial Power, the battery maker eager to invest $28 million in Raynham Woods Commerce Center, may pull out of the deal if drainage problems in the park are not resolved soon.

The company broke ground on its 82,000-square-foot building last month with an eye to opening next June and selling its smaller Canton plant.

But the Taunton River Watershed Alliance and a residential abutter have appealed a conservation commission permit that allows the company to start construction.

Appeals can drag on for months.

“The environmental barriers need to be addressed as quickly as possible or Electrochem may decide to leave town. That’s the reality,” Town Planner Richard McCarthy said.

Michael Valent, Electrochem project manager, said the threat to pull out was real, but declined further comment Monday because negotiations were ongoing.

The problems began long before Electrochem bought the 20-acre parcel from Paramount Development and inked tax-saving deals with the town to locate here. The layout of the business park was approved 20 years ago with a flawed drainage system, local officials say.

An old dam and a culvert running under nearby Hill Street cannot handle the water runoff from a two-year storm.

Hill Street homeowner Anne Avelino, whose property abuts Raynham Woods to the south, says she is losing land to the floodwaters at an alarming rate and has been living with “level two white water” in her backyard for three years.

“It’s just being absolutely destroyed,” Avelino said. “I can hear the roar when I walk out my door.”

Watershed alliance representative Robert Davis said the dam and a culvert must be upgraded to modern standards to protect the waterways.

Avelino and Davis have also appealed the conservation approval of Bella Estates, a 55-unit condominium complex planned for the eastern side of the park.

The developer of Bella Estates has paid $48,000 to carry out a drainage study that concluded the dam and culvert needed to be enlarged.

Although the Planning Board approved the site plans for Electrochem, board member Henry Ellis said every new building in the park sends more water downhill.

Carl Gauthier of Paramount Development wants to work with the town or local boards may not approve further building in his park. The old wooden dam was replaced by a concrete structure five years ago. “Obviously it hasn’t solved the problem,” he said.

McCarthy has also asked selectmen to endorse his request for a state $1.2 million Public Works Economic Development (PWED) grant to pay for storm water quality and drainage and road work improvements in the commerce center.

In a letter to Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen, McCarthy says the Electrochem project is a $28 million private investment that will retain 200 jobs in Massachusetts, infuse $273,000 a year into local tax revenue and generate $464,000 a year in regional taxes.

The cost of improvements to the dam and culvert is estimated to be between $150,000 and $200,000.

Based in Clarence, N.Y., Electrochem is a subsidiary of Greatbatch Ltd., a leading manufacturer of high-performance lithium cells for extreme environments.

Its clients include NASA, the U.S. military and Halliburton.

Company representatives said they searched from Mexico to China for new premises before settling on Raynham. The director of the Massachusetts Office of Business Development attended the groundbreaking last month.